At the age of fifteen, she met him during a rainy night. It was late, the air was cool, and she had gone downstairs to buy a midnight snack. In a dark alley near her home, she spotted him. He looked like a defeated fighting dog, covered in wounds, panting miserably next to a garbage bin. Perhaps it was out of sympathy, or maybe it was the sharp, glowing eyes in the darkness that attracted her—brighter and sharper than any wild beast.

She squatted in front of him and offered him hot soup, but he stubbornly pushed her hand away, rejecting her kindness. She didn’t get angry; she simply left the food she had just bought and walked away.

She thought it was just a fleeting encounter, like a dream. But a few months later, her parents, eager for her success, sent her to a private elite school, even though their family was only middle-class.

Amidst her classmates, who came from prestigious families across Taiwan and were adorned with symbols of wealth, she found him—like herself, a “misfit.”

It wasn’t until later that she learned he had once been a silver-spooned prince. But after his parents’ business failed, they went bankrupt and committed suicide, leaving him to be taken in by wealthy relatives. He became an outsider in their home. That rainy night, he had argued with his snobbish cousin, who then called a group of servants to beat him up, even branding him with red-hot tongs before throwing him out, leaving him to fend for himself.

He wandered the streets for a few days before his uncle’s people found him. As soon as they brought him back, they scolded him, accusing him of being an ungrateful brat.

“I give you good food, good clothes, and send you to a prestigious school, and this is how you repay me? If people outside knew, they’d think I was abusing you!”

But his uncle didn’t truly care for him; he just wanted to maintain a good reputation. His aunt and cousin, even more so, saw him only as a nuisance. He struggled in a cold, loveless world, nursing his wounds in solitude. He swore to himself that one day, he would rise to the pinnacle of power and reclaim everything he had lost, forcing everyone who had looked down on him to see him in a new light.

His heart was a dark, bottomless pit, filled only with hatred and ambition. To get what he wanted, he would stop at nothing, trampling over others’ feelings and lives as he walked a ruthless path of vengeance. Over the years, she had always loved him—loved his darkness, his pride, and even the rare moments of vulnerability he unknowingly revealed. She had watched him since high school, watching him scheme among their wealthy classmates, and later, saw him dominate the business world, becoming the youngest chief trader in London’s financial district.

In that era of economic boom, a derivatives trader was nothing more than a gambler—except they handled far more money, and with much looser morals.

By-the-book straight-A students couldn’t survive in such a battlefield. Only those with the greatest greed and obsession for money and power dared to place bets and gamble against the wild tides of fate.

And he won. Calm and calculating, he saw the market bubble about to burst and withdrew just in time, securing his hard-earned gains.

He returned to Taiwan, joining a foreign firm. By chance, he met Yang Pinshen, the ambitious heir of the “Taya Group.” Yang rallied a group of young elites, raised a large sum of capital, and established a venture capital company. He became the general manager, overseeing day-to-day operations.

Naturally, she became his secretary, officially upgrading from his friend to his partner in crime—both of them walking the morally gray line.

“This is the contract drafted by the legal consultant. What do you think?” Jiang Yuyan knocked on the door and entered Jing Rui’s office, handing him a document. She had already reviewed it and marked a few details worth noting. Jing Rui took the draft, glanced at the marked sections, and nodded. “Okay, no problem. Have Mr. Luo sign it tomorrow.”

“Yes.” She responded but didn’t take back the draft, remaining where she stood.

“What do you want to say?” He noticed her hesitation.

“I was thinking about this clause,” she pointed to a section highlighted in the contract. “You’re planning to restructure Luo’s company management, which I understand, but directly removing Mr. Luo as chairman—isn’t that a bit too—”

“Too much? Too heartless?” Jing Rui cut her off with a sarcastic smile. “I’ve already said this: Mr. Luo is a good man, but his mind is stuck in the past. If we don’t replace him, Luo’s company will inevitably fail under his leadership. Tairui’s investment will be like throwing a dumpling to a dog—gone forever.”

“But this company is his life’s work. Asking him to give it up just like that, I worry he won’t be willing, and it might affect the signing.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll sign,” Jing Rui said with confidence.

“How can you be so sure?” She asked, curious.

“Because if he doesn’t, I’ll ‘hint’ to Luo’s bank that, to ensure loan repayment, it would be best to immediately freeze Luo’s funds.” Jing Rui paused, a cold smile on his face. “With Luo’s current financial situation, he wouldn’t last a day before running out of liquidity. I don’t think Mr. Luo would be foolish enough to gamble with his life’s work.”

So ruthless! Jiang Yuyan felt a slight chill run through her.

But why should she be surprised? In the business world, Jing Rui had always been cold and ruthless.

“Why the expression?” He saw through her thoughts. “Do you pity him?”

“Well, I actually… like him quite a bit,” she admitted. “It’s rare to see someone as honest as him in the business world.”

“Honest?” Jing Rui scoffed. “If he were truly honest, he wouldn’t have inflated the numbers on the bank loan or talked business with other buyers behind our backs.”

That was also to secure the best interests for his own company, Jiang Yuyan thought, but she didn’t argue further and took the draft contract.